A protector in Tibet, associated with Hayagriva, this deity is the red form of Mahakala. He is identified through his coat of mail and thick boots. He wears a garland of severed heads and a skull crown, brandishes a sword in his right hand, treads on an animal and a human figure, and has flaming hair and a third eye. The above holds a sword in his right hand and the heart of an enemy in the other, painted with red pigment like his flaming hair.

Made by a Tibetan artist in China or for a Chinese patron, this work displays typical Chinese features such as the flaming hair slanting to one side, the celestial scarf forming a rigid arch behind his head, an elegant loop at elbow level, and snake-like ends, the soft round draping of his lower garment, the serpentine ribbons of his crown. On this example, his left hand does the vitarka mudra.